


To Love You is to Know You

by Perpetual Motion (perpetfic)



Category: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - All Media Types, Trouble in the Heights (2011)
Genre: Angst, M/M, Nevada has feelings, but he is confused, h/c
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-14 07:47:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29415093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/perpetfic/pseuds/Perpetual%20Motion
Summary: Caractacus gets injured, and Nevada finds himself as the one who has to be emotionally there for the twins. He feels...odd.
Relationships: Caractacus Potts/Nevada Ramirez
Comments: 3
Kudos: 22
Collections: Valentine's Day 2021 exchange





	To Love You is to Know You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kmfoss929](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kmfoss929/gifts).



Nevada is halfway through his mid-week meeting with his Lieutenants when Diogo walks into the room and meets his eyes. He looks worried, and Nevada wonders which of his runners did something stupid this time.

"What is it?" he asks Diogo, the man he'd been talking to falling silent at his interruption.

"Scanner just rattled off your address," Diogo says, tone flat but that worry still in his eyes. "There's a hole in the wall of your basement. People heard an explosion."

The basement. Caractacus's workshop. Nevada stands and yanks his jacket off his chair as his cell goes off. He points at Yardiel. "Take over."

Yardiel nods, and Nevada answers his phone. "Ramirez."

"Nevada Ramirez?"

"Yes."

"This is Mercy--"

"Caractacus is hurt," Nevada cuts her off. "How bad?"

"I don't know, Sir. You were identified in his phone as the emergency contact."

Which means Caractacus wasn't awake when they got him to the hospital. They'd have said Caractacus had given his name and number himself. "I'll be there as soon as I can," Nevada says.

Diogo opens the door for Nevada and falls into step next to him as Nevada ends the call and tucks his phone back into his jacket.

<"My idiot blew himself up hard enough to knock himself out.">

Diogo nods and opens the outer door to the club, then opens the back door of the Escalade for Nevada to climb in. <"Where are the brats?">

Nevada is hit with a cold wave of realization that he didn't even think about the twins. <"School. We should get them.">

<"I can send one of the boys. They can meet us at the hospital.">

"No," Nevada says. "They can't sign them out. I'll have to get them.”

"Okay. School first. Then?"

"Mercy."

Diogo nods and shuts the door. Nevada gets his phone back out and makes two calls. First, to a contact he has at Mercy to get his ear to the ground and see what he can hear. Second, to the school, to ask that the twins be ready and waiting when he arrives at the office.

"What is the emergency, Mr. Ramirez?" the front office secretary asks.

 _Their father's a fucking idiot,_ "Their father's been injured in an accident. Don't tell them. I'll do it when I get there." He hangs up and stares out the window. He has a lot of questions about what the fuck Caractacus was doing that blew a hole in the wall. Usually, he'd have a few of his men making calls and talking to contacts, but it doesn't feel like something to farm out. This isn't tracking down a missing shipment or getting an ex off one of his dancers’ backs. This is personal.

This is family.

*

When Nevada walks into the front office, Jeremy and Jemima are waiting. Jeremy is sitting very still and stiff in his chair, his chin pushed forward like it does when he's trying not to cry. Jemima is glaring at her phone; a glare she turns on Nevada immediately.

"Why is there a hole in the house?" she asks.

"Why do you know there's a hole in the house?" Nevada replies.

"There are several websites that report real-time scanner traffic that you can search by cross street," Jemima answers. "One man was removed from the premises and placed in an ambulance headed to Mercy hospital. No report on his condition."

Jeremy's chin trembles. 

Nevada crouches down in front of both of them. "Your dad's done something stupid," he says. "That's all I know so far. But we're going to the hospital to check on him after I sign you out." Jemima gives him a tiny nod. Jeremy sniffles and takes Jemima's hand. Nevada isn't sure what else to say, so he pats them both on the knee, then stands up to sign them out.

"I'll need to see a photo ID, please," the secretary says. "I don't think we've ever seen you here, Mr. Ramirez."

Nevada doesn't answer, just silently pushes his license across the counter for her review. He hears another sniffle and fights the urge to turn around. He's comforted them through minor bumps and bruises, but he's the first to admit that Caractacus is the one who handles the heavy lifting when they're scared or sad. He doesn't know how to tell a kid it'll be all right when he doesn't know if it will. 

"Okay, all set if you sign here," the secretary says.

Nevada signs where she points and puts his license back in his wallet. When he turns around, Jemima and Jeremy are standing, hand-in-hand, and Jemima's chin now matches Jeremy's in tension and wobble. 

Fuck. 

Nevada takes a deep breath and holds out his hand. "We ready?" he asks. 

Jeremy lets go of Jemima's hand to take his, and then Jemima comes to his other side and grabs his other hand before opening the door so Nevada doesn't have to.

"I'm sure your dad will be fine," the secretary says. 

Jeremy whips around so hard, Nevada feels the jerk of it all the way to his shoulder. "You don't know that!"

"Jeremy," Jemima says quietly. 

He turns his angry face to her. "She doesn't!"

Nevada acts on instinct, crouching down and wrapping his arm around Jeremy, lifting him up and carrying him out of the office as Jemima's grip on his hand turns painful. 

Diogo takes one look at Nevada and the kids and says nothing in greeting. He opens the door so Nevada can climb in with Jeremy still against his chest, then offers his hand to Jemima so she can navigate the big step up into the Escalade.

"Thank you, Diogo," she says. 

"You're welcome, young lady," Diogo responds. 

Nevada would laugh at Jemima's manners except that in them, he sees Caractacus and the way he sometimes hides fear or excitement behind a polite facade. Jeremy is heavy against his shoulder, face half-buried in Nevada's jacket. 

Diogo turns in his seat once he gets in the car and looks at Jemima, then Jeremy, then Nevada. "I have news," he says. "And it's not bad."

"Is it good?" Jemima asks. 

Diogo gives her an easy, understanding smile that Nevada envies. His face simply can't do that, he's learned. He didn't care before he met Caractacus. Before he fell in love with a crazy inventor and his annoying brats.

"It's okay," Diogo says. "A guy we know asked some questions. Your dad's got some minor burns and they're pretty sure he has a concussion. They're gonna do an X-ray to check his skull's okay, but they doubt he actually broke anything."

Jemima nods slowly. Jeremy shifts, and Nevada expects him to turn and face Diogo, but instead, he presses his entire face against Nevada's chest and breathes in with a bone-deep shudder. 

"Thank you for the news," Jemima says, as serious as before. 

Diogo gives her a very serious nod, then glances at Nevada. "We ready?" he asks. 

"Seatbelt," Nevada says to Jemima. She snaps hers on. Nevada tries to lift Jeremy off his lap, but the kid gets both hands in his shirt front and won't let go. 

"Jeremy, it's okay," Jemima says quietly. "Daddy's okay."

Jeremy shakes his head, and Nevada watches him fight his tears. Nevada doesn't know what to do. Both kids are acting like this is the scariest news they've ever heard, which he could understand when he didn't have anything to tell them, but with Diogo's update, he'd expected a lifting of some of the fear. 

"All right," Nevada says, patting Jeremy's back. "Okay. Take a deep breath. Let it out slow. Tell me what's got you so scared. You've both seen your dad hurt before. Hell, I've taken all three of you to the doctor at once from the sh--stuff you get up to in his workshop."

Jemima gives him a silent look that makes his heart hurt. 

"Mommy," Jeremy whispers. 

Nevada suddenly remembers Caractacus asking him to add a bouquet of daisies to that week's shopping list. He'd written it down without a second thought, but the memory clicks the twins responses into place. Their mother's birthday is in two days.

"Hey," Nevada says, tapping the back of Jeremy's head lightly so the kid will look at him. "Your dad's okay." He looks at Jemima. "Your dad's okay," he repeats. "Some minor burns and a concussion aren't gonna get near to stopping him. He'll just be a little sore for a few days. Probably be goofy on whatever medicine they give him."

Jemima and Jeremy look at one another. Jemima holds out her hand, and Jeremy climbs off Nevada's lap to sit next to her, though he leans heavily on Nevada after he puts on his seatbelt. Nevada clicks his own into place and gives Diogo a nod to start driving. 

Nevada feels an extra weight as Diogo makes the first turn and looks away from the window to find Jemima leaning against Jeremy, her added weight pushing Jeremy more firmly into Nevada. Nevada lifts his arm slowly, careful not to dislodge Jeremy, and lays his arm along both of their shoulders for the silent ride to the hospital. 

*

"Potts, yes," the desk attendant says as she types the name into her computer. "He's been admitted for overnight observation. Room 613."

"Thanks," Nevada says. Jemima leads the way to the elevator. Jeremy stays close to Nevada, and Nevada encourages it by keeping one hand on Jeremy's back. They ride the elevator up to the sixth floor, and Nevada finds the nurses' station. "Go find 613," he tells the twins. "I'll meet you there."

They take off side-by-side, moving with an in-sync, quick walk that Nevada recognizes as his own when he's trying to get them out the door in the mornings. He can't move until they turn a corner and the lack of visual makes Nevada snap back to himself. 

He informs the nurse of who he is, and she promises to let the doctor know he's arrived. He finds 613 easily. Caractacus is laying flat on the bed, an IV in one arm, white bandages on his arms and one peeking out from under the neck of his hospital gown. He's got four stitches in his forehead and the start of what Nevada knows is going to be a matching set of black eyes. 

Jeremy and Jemima are standing at the bed rail, hands behind their backs like they've been told not to touch anything. Nevada steps up behind them, then grips the bedrail. He pulls up, then out, then shifts the bar down. 

"Don't wake him," he says quietly. "But you can sit up there if you want."

The twins turn to him, Jemima holding her arms up for help without hesitation. Nevada hefts her onto the bed, and she turns and sits cross-legged, wrapping one hand around two of Caractacus's fingers. 

"Your turn," Nevada says to Jeremy. 

Jeremy looks up at him, and he's got tears on his face. "I didn't mean to cry," he says. "I know it's stupid to cry."

Nevada blinks, surprised, and drops down so he's eye-to-eye with Jeremy. "Who told you it was stupid to cry?"

"People," Jeremy says, dragging his sleeve across his eyes. More tears well up and fall, and he looks down, clearly ashamed. 

"Hey," Nevada says. "Whoever told you that, they're an ass--" He pauses then pushes through; he's already said the bad word. "Asshole. Nothing wrong with crying."

"Swear jar," Jemima says quietly from the bed. Nevada can tell she's smiling a little. 

He takes out his wallet and removes two dollar bills. He gives them both to Jeremy. "That's one for saying the a-word, and there's a second if you need to say it, too, okay?"

"What about Jemima?" Jeremy asks. 

Nevada snorts and takes out a five. "There. You're both covered for three now."

Jeremy smiles, and it's watery. Tears roll down his face, but he doesn't look away from Nevada now. He holds out his arms, and Nevada puts him on the bed, placing him carefully on Caractacus's other side. Jeremy lays down with his hands under his face and seems to simply watch Caractacus breathe. 

Nevada takes up position at the end of the bed, one hand wrapped around Caractacus's ankle through the sheet. The kids don't talk. They simply sit and watch their father. Nevada wonders if they're still scared and if there's anything he can do about it. 

The doctor walks in, an older woman with a bright green stethoscope. She greets them quietly, and then explains what they already know. Nevada appreciates that she doesn't just recite it to him. She looks at the kids, too. Like they're just as worthy to know what's happening. 

"So, he'll be here overnight, just to be safe, but he knew all the information we ask people who hit their heads, so I think he'll be able to go home tomorrow."

"Can he leave the house after?" Jeremy asks. "On Saturday."

"I don't know," the doctor says. "That'll depend on how he feels. But if he wants to leave the house, I think that's okay."

"Okay," Jeremy says. "Thank you."

The doctor smiles at him, then Jemima, then Nevada. "You're welcome. The nurses will be coming in to check on him through the night. You're welcome to stay."

"Thanks," Nevada says. 

They're left alone, except for the nurses, who move around Jemima and Jeremy like there are kids crowding beds every day. Nevada sits in the recliner after awhile, looking at Caractacus's bruised face and Jemima's sloped back and Jeremy's bent legs. 

His phone buzzes some indeterminate time later, and he answers it. 

"Called a cop I know," Yardiel says after he says hello. "No foul play. No sign of intentional damage. Looks like your inventor just went a little too hard with some chemical mixtures and...boom."

Something in Nevada loosens that he didn't even know was held tight. "Idiot," he mutters. 

"You need anything?" Yardiel asks. 

Nevada looks at the kids again. "Food. Ham and cheese sandwiches. Mashed potatoes with lots of butter. Those soft peppermint candies."

"I'll get someone to you," Yardiel replies. "Anything else?"

"Water. Coffee. Change of clothes for the idiot."

"Got it."

"Thanks." Nevada ends the call and stands up again. He touches Jemima's back lightly, then walks around the foot of the bed, pressing his palm to Jeremy's hair for a moment before taking hold of Caractacus's hand gently. 

"What if he can't leave the house Saturday?" Jemima asks. 

"We'll get him to your mom," Nevada says. "All of you, okay? I can make that happen if he's not up for too much."

"You should come with," Jeremy says, turning his head to look up at Nevada. "You should be there."

"Yeah," Jemima says.

Nevada nods slowly, taken aback by the sudden invitation he knows he can't turn down unless they change their minds come Saturday. "Okay," he says. "I'll carry your dad if I have to."

"He's too heavy," Jeremy says. 

"Nah," Nevada replies, and the face he makes makes both Jemima and Jeremy giggle quietly. "Your dad's a little guy compared to me."

"No he's not," Jemima says. "He's the same size you are."

"He only looks that way because he wears so many shirts," Nevada replies, and he feels like he's figured out how to help as Jemima and Jeremy dissolve into more giggles. 

*

Caractacus wakes up slowly, the world fuzzy, then dim, then clear but still dim. He blinks a few times as he comes awake and remembers he's at the hospital. He'd been working on a new fuel mixture for Chitty. Something that would burn less emissions on lift off. He'd been playing with ratios, and then--

Oh, dear. The wall. 

He lifts his head, then drops back down, groaning quietly as pain pulses above his eye. There's a shifting sound to his left, and he turns his head slowly. Nevada's looking at him through sleepy, half-lidded eyes, the twins wedged in on either side of him in the armchair. They're both deeply asleep, slumped against Nevada's chest. He has an arm around each of them. Caratacus blearily wishes for a camera.

"Welcome back," Nevada whispers. "The fuck were you doing you blew out the wall?"

Caratacus smiles at Nevada's tone and his swearing. Nevada's concern is bright in his eyes as are other emotions. "Don't swear in front of the kids," he replies in his own whisper. 

Nevada rolls his eyes and shifts until he's managed to free himself of his living bookends without waking them. He walks over and leans against the bedrail. "The fuck," he whispers. 

Caratacus lifts an arm and winces when he feels pain. "Language."

"I got bad news for you," Nevada says as he takes Caractacus's hand and helps him lift his arm so he can see the bandages. "I gave them some money to cover three swears each, and they haven't used 'em yet."

"You're a terrible influence," Caractacus says. He watches Nevada kiss his knuckles and stretches his fingers to brush Nevada's cheek. 

"Maybe, but they like me," Nevada says. 

"They love you," Caractacus corrects. "As do I. And I was working on a fuel upgrade for the car, for your information."

"Next time, triple-check your numbers," Nevada replies. "None of us need to be that fucking scared again."

Caractacus meets Nevada's gaze. He wonders what's happened since he's been asleep, but he's already feeling tired again, so he doesn't ask. "I'll try my best," he says. He hears Nevada mutter something as he drifts back off to sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this! I had fun giving Nevada four whole feelings. 
> 
> Thank you to mgarner for the last-minute beta!


End file.
